Paul’s 2nd letter to the Thessalonians presents us with a bit of a mystery. When writing about the revealing of the antichrist mid-tribulation, he says why this couldn’t have happened earlier. There is something or someone “restraining” or holding back the Satan empowered man of sin from operating freely. This restrainer is currently still on the job. “And now you know what is restraining, that he (antichrist) may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed….” (2nd Thessalonians 2: 6-8). Apparently, Paul had directly told the Thessalonians who this restrainer was, but it’s not made clear for us. We need to do a little detective work to figure out who he means.
First, we must acknowledge that God Himself is orchestrating all end-time events, and so is responsible for everything that happens and when. Notice that stated in the above passage it is he who restrains until he is taken out of the way. God will remove an individual who has been holding back the antichrist. In Daniel’s book, the prophet reveals a spiritual battle taking place to keep Gods messenger from answering Daniels prayer. When the angel finally gets to Daniel, he says this; “….I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me….” (Daniel 10: 12-13). Later in the chapter he concludes when talking about these satanic princes in the spirit realm; “….No one upholds me against these except Michael, your prince.” (Daniel 10: 21). In chapter 12, when talking about the start of the great tribulation, when the antichrist reveals himself, the angel tells Daniel this; “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation….” (Daniel 12:1). These scriptures clearly indicate that there is a mighty archangel named Michael whose responsibility is to watch over and protect Gods people from evil powers in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Because we Christians are “grafted in” to Gods chosen, Michael is our protector as well. But that protection will come to an abrupt end at the middle of the 70th week. Just before the final 1260 days, Revelation tells us this; “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12: 7-9). This is the precise time when Paul talks about removal of the restrainer. Michael “stands up”, and kicks Satan out of the Heavenly realm to earth where he is given a short time, “his time”, 3.5 years, to do his dirty work. Michael will have completed his mission for that time and will no longer protect Gods people from Satan’s wiles. His job of restraining is temporarily over. If you’ve read the seven recent posts on the two witnesses, you can see how their demise fits well with the timing of the restrainers removal. The two witnesses are killed mid-trib. when Satan, kicked out of heaven by Michael, opens the abyss, and looses the destroyer to posses the antichrist. Only then can the two witnesses be killed. If Michael were not taken out of the way, he would have prevented these things from happening.
This will usher in a time of testing for the church such as never before. We must be prepared. Though God will remove the restrainer, He will not abandon us. We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. He has given us his Spirit, which is greater than anything the world can throw at us. However, we are going to need the full armor as listed in Ephesians chapter six to take our stand. Always remember what David said before facing Goliath ; “The battle is the Lords”.
I think, taken together, these scriptures make a good case for identifying the Archangel Michael as the restrainer. I’m glad he’s on the job right now fighting for us in the spirit realm, but I’m not necessarily looking forward to when God takes him out of the way. It’s going to be a troubling time indeed. Jesus said about those days; “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:22)